Wilson’s disease combined with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: Wilson’s disease (WD) is an inherited disorder in which defective biliary excretion of copper leads to its accumulation, particularly in the liver and brain. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-system disorder that can manifest in any system. Cases with concomitant WD and SLE, unrelated to treatment with penicillamine, have been rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a young woman who had typical neuropsychiatric symptoms and laboratory tests results of WD. She also had concomitant massive hematuria and proteinuria, fever, multiple positive autoimmune antibodies, hypocomplementemia, abnormal lumbar puncture findings and evidence of Sjögren syndrome, which are all rare in WD. Hence, we considered the diagnosis of SLE. Tapering of steroid dosage also confirmed the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Wilson’s disease and SLE have varied clinical manifestations. Herein, we reported a rare case in which the two conditions concomitantly existed. In clinical practice, differential diagnosis of the two diseases is necessary for patients with hepatic, neurological, and psychiatric manifestations.